Published by Senator Tommy Banks (retired) on 25 June 2009
Well, Parliament has begun its summer recess (although some committees of the Senate are continuing their work). Since it’s summer, we will be hearing howls from government ministers that the unelected Senate is holding up legislation. In the short time that I have been here, that is true whether the government is Liberal or Conservative. There must be a little book given to ministers of the Crown instructing them in the practice of summer howling about the Senate not doing its duty which, in the minds of ministers seems to consist in unquestioningly approving their proposed legislation, whatever its flaws or unintended consequences, and regardless of potential conflicts with other laws or with the constitution. Just hold your nose, pass the damn bills and go home.
This year, the buzzword of the annual howling is “crime” bills.
How can I put this? I’m not permitted to use the word “lies”. Okay. The howlings are knowingly incorrect. They are wrong. Their assertions are unfounded. They are mis-statements of facts. They do not speak the truth. They are, as Mr. Churchill said, “terminological inexactitudes.”
Some facts:
There are four (4) government-initiated “crime” bills in the Senate.
C-15 was introduced in the House of Commons on 27 February, passed by that place more than three months later, and sent to the Senate on 9 June. When a government bill is introduced in the Senate, the debate process, which starts everything going, is ordinarily initiated by the government’s sponsor of the Bill. This occurred in the Senate in the middle of June. After the House of Commons spent more than three months dealing with it, the government would like the Senate to have passed this bill in a week. It is to laugh.
C-25 was introduced in the House of Commons on 27 March, passed there, and also sent to the Senate on 9 June. Again, debate on the bill was initiated by the government in the Senate in the middle of June. The government would like . . . . (see above).
C-26 was introduced in the House of Commons on 21 April, passed there, and sent to the Senate on 16 June. The government initiated debate in the Senate on 22 June. They think we should have passed the bill by now. No sober second thought please, or thought of any kind. Never mind what you’re paid to do, just rubber-stamp please.
S-5 is a government bill introduced in the Senate on 1 April. That was nearly three months ago. The government has not yet begun debate on the bill in the Senate.
If you would like to find most of the present “crime” bills though, there are nine (9) sitting in the House of Commons; C-19, C-31, C-34, C-35, C-36, C-42, C-43, C-46 and C-47.
Bills C-14 and S-4 are also in the House of Commons. They are both “crime” bills passed by the Senate and sent back to “the other place” for ratification. The House of Commons didn’t deal with them before “rising” (in Ottawa we don’t go to work and go home from work - we “sit” and we “rise”) for the summer.
As observed in an editorial in the Halifax Sunday Herald: “Serious work certainly goes on in one chamber. Its committees tackle important issues and produce timely, cogent reports. Its members, while speaking up for their regions, also seem receptive to listening to the views of all Canadians on important issues of the day.”
Meanwhile, its counterpart merely spins its wheels almost daily. Many members are often absent. What’s worse though, is that a majority also ignores their constituents’ interest when supporting or opposing legislation, instead voting strictly along well-enforced party lines.
The solution, though radical, seems unavoidable: abolish the House of Commons. . . . . .